About defi consulting

Lisa Ingarfield, PhD

Defi Consulting's lead consultant is a researcher, program evaluator, organizational strategist, and systems thinker. She has a doctorate in Communication Studies and has worked in non-profits, healthcare, education, criminal justice, and government for over 20 years. As a consultant, Dr. Ingarfield works with organizations and businesses to conduct research and evaluation, and provide organizational and system review. Defi’s services enable clients to provide better services, products, and/or client/patient experiences. She works with companies to identify needs and solutions as well as to determine whether a company’s key performance indicators / outcomes are sufficiently inclusive and useful.

mixed methods

Dr. Ingarfield has expertise in program evaluation, qualitative methods including interviews, focus groups, and listening sessions, survey development, and data analysis, visualization, and translating results for broad-based audiences.

Actionable Insights

Dr. Ingarfield works closely with clients, and their community partners, clients, patients and/or employees to develop individualized measurement frameworks and evaluation plans. The insights learned from research are then translated into actionable, solution-oriented insights.

Community-Based, Applied Research

As an applied, community-based researcher, Dr. Ingarfield draws from continuous improvement models, (participatory) action research, and personal narrative in her work. She works with clients to develop meaningful logic models and theories of change so they can better understand their impact on the ground. Project results drive change, and can uncover gaps in services or experiences, enabling clients to focus their interventions or products in more meaningful ways.

Organizational Review

Dr. Ingarfield is able to see where organizational structures are in need of repair. She thinks in systems, policies, and process. Listening to and communicating with the people who comprise the organization is central to implementing any kind of change. She is committed to enhancing the workplace so employees and customers feel valued, heard, and included.

Unique Experiences

Dr. Ingarfield's varied experiences combine in such a way to provide organizations with an inquisitive, thoughtful, and innovative consultancy experience. Her work is embedded in the needs of her client, always with the goal of improving structures, systems, communication, and client and employee experiences.

Information on consulting services OFFERED.

defi Consulting services

Communication is central to a successful business, project, or team. Communication goes well beyond interpersonal and verbal communication. It exists in your policies and practices, your organization's structure, the way you compensate and support your staff, the explicit and implicit messages you send your clients, patients, and customers, your external image, and how you engage with, and outreach to your community. Effective communication is also central to addressing inclusivity in the workplace, not only creating, but maintaining inclusive workspaces and understanding the power of language. Often, we do not realize what we are communicating to others until we ask and reflect on hidden messages. This is why research and evaluation tools are critical components of improving our productivity, understanding inclusion, and learning if you are meeting the goals you have established for your organization.

Much like its Tri to Defi running and triathlon coaching services sister, Defi Consulting values consistent, thoughtful, and accountable research, evaluation, writing, and communication in its consultancy projects.

Organizational Culture

No organization is immune from the biases and diverse perspectives each of its employees and customers bring to the table. Creating an environment that fosters open, respectful communication, and a desire to grow and learn as individuals and a team, is crucial in today's global economy. Research findings on the value of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for organizations in terms of employee retention, business growth, and brand reputation are clear: it matters.

Walking the talk is no easy task, and can be challenging even for the most energetic supporter of social justice. It requires of us to change and face that perhaps, we too, have areas of growth. As your organization thinks about inclusivity, equity, organizational behavior, communication, employee and organizational wellness, it must consider how to build and maintain an inclusive environment for all its employees, customers, clients, patients, and community members. One of the most frequent downfalls is when an organization espouses a message of inclusivity and yet, in practice, this is not the experience of its employees, customers, patients, clients or community members. Defi Consulting can assist you in thinking through organizational change in small and large ways, providing you with actionable insights you can implement.

Research and Evaluation

Have you ever wanted to show the work you are doing is having the desired effect? Perhaps you have a new program idea and need someone to evaluate it so it can continue. Or maybe you want to research an issue in order to demonstrate to a funder the need for additional resources. Or, you want to know how your clients or patients experience the services you offer. Defi Consulting can assist your organization with:

• Logic Model development

• Theory of Change review and development

• Key Performance Indicator / Outcome development and evaluation

• Literature reviews / assessing the current research landscape for your issue

• Impact, process, and outcome evaluation

• Human-centered research design and insight development.

Examples of Defi Consulting R&E projects include:

Adams County Behavioral Health Co-Responder Program Evaluation. Dr. Ingarfield is a subject matter expert for Adam’s county in its evaluation of seven behavioral health co-responder programs in the county.

Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Adult Education Initiatives. Defi Consulting contracted with CU Boulder’s Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation (CADRE) to conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups to offer CDE insights on the professional development needs of adult educators in the state.

The Colorado Forensic Compliance Evaluation Project with the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. This research and evaluation project was federally funded through a competitive Department of Justice grant. It assessed the state of forensic compliance laws and their implementation in two Colorado communities.

Strategies for Policing Innovation: Sexual Assault Taskforce. This project was funded through the DOJ's Bureau for Justice Assistance and was with Commerce City Police and Brighton Police Departments. Defi Consulting led the evaluation of a strategic initiative to improve sexual assault response and sex offender management in these two neighboring jurisdictions.

The Wings Foundation. Defi Consulting provides program impact evaluation to this critical organization in Colorado. Wings provides services for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, one of the few agencies focusing on this group of survivors in the country.

Brighton Co-Responder Program Pilot. Another project funded through the DOJ's Bureau for Justice Assistance, this project involves the design and implementation of a mental health and law enforcement officer co-responder program evaluation. Variable of interest are officer mental health knowledge self-efficacy, arrests, and on-call clinician impact for Brighton citizens.

Organizational Equity Auditing. Defi Consulting partners with other practitioners (primarily Dr. Shaunna Payne Gold from Gold Enterprises, LLC) to evaluate the efficacy of organizational equity programs and goals. This includes: climates surveys, focus groups, interviews, and policy and practice reviews. Projects Defi has partnered on include: The Greater Milwaukee Synod, Centerlink, New York City Housing Development Corporation, Johns Hopkins School of Education, the Pacific Pride Foundation, and the Episcopal Health Foundation.

Sexual Violence Prevention Education Statewide Coalition Capacity Assessment. Defi Consulting was the lead consultant on developing and implementing a capacity assessment as part of a project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for statewide coalitions to better understand their capacity and need to implement sexual violence primary prevention and heath equity strategies in the state. Recommendations were developed with extensive and meaningful statewide partner collaboration.

Want to Learn More?

To set up an initial scoping call with Defi Consulting, reach out via the Contact Us page.